blast

We wake up to -5F (-21C), only we read that it feels like -14F (-26C) because of the wind. 

I do not rush to get out of bed, let alone go outside to feed the animals.

Instead, we stay upstairs and read, Ed lost in his next machine design, me -- well, picking up the threads of current news stories.

Morning thoughts? I can't help but think that history will look back at this period and it will not look kindly on us. Bad enough that we allowed this (nay, voted for it, so we asked for this!) to take place in our own country, wrecking, destroying, gloating, but it seems we are also awfully good at exporting our smug belligerent attitude of a bullying out of control emperor run amuck, hell bent on spitting fire on (former) friends and ravaged by war, disaster and disease people with whom we share this planet. History will judge us harshly. 

It's a gorgeous day.... to stay inside.

Still, those animals....

I head out.

(This is what I would call a stare-down: Tuxie is afraid of getting near the chicken. The chicken is afraid of getting near anyone. Who will prevail??)

(It even looks cold!)

 

Breakfast -- we should hunker down with oatmeal, but the granola is so good!

And then I do more reading. Yes, about politics, but, too, travel -- these two carry me through the day when I have free time. (Taxes will have to wait -- I haven't the stomach for them today.) And I do have time because the kids are off from school with supervision elsewhere. And it's good reading. Yes, I am properly horrified by the bullying venom coming out of the billionaire's mouth and the hateful speech is generates on his favorite platform, but I will not allow myself to get riled up about it. Making people angry -- that's his agenda, not mine. Instead, I try to stay focused on the facts -- what's being done and with what consequences for whom. Right now, all I can do is stay informed and think about a few what ifs, but not too many. One day at a time.

That's politics for you. My second reading theme is in fact a superb counter to the dismal news. I read about food and travel. And I have a link for you if you are at all planning trips for yourself, for your family! Here it is: 50 tips on better travel. I'm not sure I agree with all of them, but I do find them all to be good food for thought. The author has had (he says) 53 years of travel experience. I've had more (meaning I'm older!) and yet it's never enough. You're always learning what fits your mode, your mindset, what triggers the best reflection and reaction. And lets not forget this -- what makes you happy! [Sometimes I watch tour groups straining to hear the bored words of a guide as they push their way through crowded star attractions and I think -- who in that group is happy? Or, I listen to the rundown of the famous places that must be checked off in cities that do indeed have very many famous places and it strikes me as so insane. Are you having fun yet??]

Italians have a name for a way to get to enjoyment: Slow Food, Slow Travel. I think both need no explanation.

 (at home, my December amaryllis plant decided to spring another bud and deliver more flowers!)

 

 

(looking out the kitchen window: lots of deer passing through)

 

 

In the late afternoon I shuffle Snowdrop from her Shakespeare play rehearsal to her dance class. After the drop off, I find myself close to the grocery store and so I do my shopping for the week. There is something special about filling your cart in the evening hours. The store isn't empty, but it is somehow peaceful. Perhaps after a long day people are not in a hurry. And of course, every last item looks delicious, because you're hungry. 

At home, I reheat leftovers -- a Monday tradition here, at the farmhouse. We add a quilt to the couch, not because the house is cold, but because it is so freezing out there that you feel chilled just thinking about it! I wonder if schools will close tomorrow -- the morning temp is to be -13F (-25C) and that's before factoring in the winds. But you know, further north it will be even colder and hey, after this week, we are moving ever so closer to spring.

Did I ever tell you how much I love spring?

with love...